The
Stamford Historical Society: The Hoyt Barnum House

The Hoyt
Barnum House has recently been cleaned and refurbished with17th and 18th century
furniture.
Join us for an online tour.

Entry Way

Pennsylvania wood trunk dated 1773. It features a painted tulip pattern,typical of that area in yellow and gold. The paint is original to the piece.

Note: When this page was created, there was on dispaly the Wethersfield
Chest. The early
17th century painted pine, six-board storage chest retains its original compass-drawn
decoration in red, green and white pigments. It was found in an early Wethersfield
house and has been attributed to a Wethersfield area craftsman, perhaps one
named Peter Blin. The staple hinges are original. This chest is particularly
appropriate in the Hoyt-Barnum House as the original 28 Stamford settlers
came
down from Wethersfield in 1641.

Hanging
Lantern. The
18th century lighting fixture with its distinctive onion-shaped glass globe
would originally have held a candle, but at some point it was electrified.
Provenance
unknown.

The Parlor

Queen
Anne Maple Armchair. Made in
Connecticut, 1750-1820, this chair has a serpentine crest, a solid vase splat,
sausage and ring-turned legs with flaring feet which are joined by a ball
and
reel-turned front stretcher.

Queen
Anne Drop-Leaf Table. Made
in Connecticut, circa 1780, this maple table has D-shaped leaves
and a shaped skirt which is raised on slightly cabriole legs with pad feet.
It is painted red with possibly old green paint underneath. Small tables were
widely used in early homes as they were portable and could easily be moved
from
room to room or even outdoors on a nice day.

Banister
Back Side Chair. Mid-18th
century. The chair back has three vertical balusters with the flat side facing
front. There are two turned front stretchers, two side and one rear. The
legs
end in small bun feet. This chair retains its original rush seat and old black
paint.

Banister
Back Arm Chair. Mid-18th
century. Four vertical balusters are flanked by turned back posts ending in
finials. Chair arms end in ram horn handrests. The splint seat is probably
original.

Ladder
Back Side Chair. This smaller
size chair was made of maple and ash in New England in the 19th century. Judging
by the size, it was probably made for a woman. The chair stiles are topped
with
nippled finials and the three splats are slightly concave. Circular tapered
legs are joined by a double-front stretcher.

Banister
Back Side Chair. Made
in New England in the late 18th century, this chair has a dipped crest above
four molded balusters. The rush seat is probably original. The turned legs
are
joined by a sausage-turned stretcher. The ball feet are quite worn.

Banister
Back Armchair. Made in
Connecticut in the 18th century, this painted black chair has its original
splint seat. The four reeded balusters are topped with a dipped crest. Provenance
unknown.

Andirons. 18th
century andirons (sometimes called firedogs) have ball finials and penny
feet.

Chippendale
Tripod Table. Made of cherry
in Connecticut, circa 1760. The circular top rests on a turned baluster standard.
The tripod base ends in snake feet.

The Keeping Room

Painted
Cupboard. Mustard
color is faintly grained. This cupboard belonged to General David Waterbury.

William
and Mary Gate-leg Table. Made
of maple, probably in New York, circa 1720-1760. It has D-shaped
leaves and double ring and vase turned legs which end in ball feet.

On the table is a collection
of handmade wooden plates and bowls (often referred to as treen) as well as
a large pewter plate and horn cups.

Ladder
Back Arm Chair. Made of maple
and ash in Connecticut between 1750 and 1820. This chair has a serpentine crest,
solid vase splat, sausage and ring-turned legs with flaring feet joined by
a
ball and reel-turned front stretcher. This would have been the Father's chair.

The Fireplace

Many
cooking utensils and tools were needed to prepare family meals. Most homes would
not have had all of the ones shown here. While none of the metal items are believed
to be made by Samuel Hoyt, the builder of the house, he was, by profession,
a blacksmith and was occupied in making similar utensils. There are some of
the special items to be found on the hearth and on the mantel:

Gooseneck
Andirons. Dating
to the 18th century, these wrought iron andirons came from the Pratt family
of Pratt Island, which lies just off the Stamford/Darien coastline.

High-legged
Trivet. Circa 1775-1790. This wood handled one would not have been set into
the ashes, but would have sat on the hearth to hold a pot or pan to keep
the contents warm.
Not surprisingly, the wood handle is badly burned.

Tin
Candle Mold. The
use of molds made candlemaking much less time consuming than hand dipping.
This six taper model held six lengths of cotton wicking threaded into the
small holes
on the bottom and then secured by two sticks laid across the top. Melted wax
or tallow was then poured into the mold and allowed to harden.

Betty
Lamp. This
was a handy source of light. This one is made of tin. The shallow, cup-like
font holds the oil in which floats a wick of twisted cotton.

Hour
Glass. An
18th century timepiece made of blown glass in a pine frame. It was found
near Lisbon, Connecticut.

The Bedroom

Folding
Rope Bed. The early
maple bed features a headboard with simple pineapple finials. There is no footboard.
Ropes supported the straw tick or feather mattress and had to be pulled taut
to hold the bed frame together. There would undoubtedly have been a trundle
bed under this bed to provide sleeping room for young children. It would
be
pulled out at night and slid under the bed in the daytime to allow more space
for daily household activities. The 1738 inventory of Samuel Hoyt's estate
lists
a trundle bed.

Bed
Wrenches. Three varying
sizes are on display. They were an absolute necessity to keep the bed ropes
tight. Herein lies the origin of the nighttime phrase still used today, sleep
tight.

William
and Mary Chest. A rectangular,
lift-top chest made of oak and pine and stained brick red. It is probably of
English origin and dates to the late 17th century. It has paneled front and
sides; the stiles continue downward to form legs. The incised decoration
is
of demi-lune design.

Slat
Back Rocking Chair. The chair dates to the 18th century with the rockers
added at a later date. The original rush seat is well-worn. Provenance: unknown.
The Bargello needlepoint
cushion was made by Avis Gardiner.

Child's
Slat Back Chair. This
mid-18th century chair retains its original red paint and is marked J.P., for
John Parsons, on three of the back slats. The front legs are flat so the
chair
could be used as a child's walker, pushing it along a bare floor. John Parsons
came from England to Massachusetts; then came down to Connecticut and on
to
New York. He advertised in the New York papers in 1754 as a cabinetmaker. The
embroidered cushion was made by Avis Gardiner, a prominent Stamford antiquarian
and dealer in American antiques.

Painted
Pine Cradle. This gray
painted cradle with simple green trim dates to the 19th century. The plank
sides rake inward and the rockers are D-shaped.

Ratchet
Candlestand. Dating
to the early 18th century, this oak candlestand was handmade using small
wooden pegs throughout. It has a carved “X” base. Two tin cups were
set into the original candle sockets which had burned and were no longer
useable.
The stand could be adjusted to provide light at the proper height.

T-base
Maple Candlestand. The
circular tabletop stands on a turned pedestal and shows evidence of original
green paint. Acquired as a memorial to Grace Leach, Hospitality Chairman
of
the Stamford Historical Society for many years.

Three-legged
Stool. Stools and
simple small benches were easy to make at home and provided portable seating
for children in most early homes. Provenance unknown.

Small
Household Items. The bootjack,
curling iron, chamber pot, small domed box and saucer candlestick warrant the
viewer's interest. Saucer candlesticks were very practical when carrying
lighted
candles from room to room. The hot wax would fall into the saucer instead of
onto the hand of the carrier.

Andirons. Loop
top andirons, made circa 1800. The feet are deeply arched.

Small
Domed Box. Painted gray and lined with newspaper. This was found in a tumbledown
house (purported to be haunted) on Ponus Ridge in New Canaan, CT in 1890.

Rush
Light and Candleholder. 17th century, handwrought
by a blacksmith. The hand carved oak base is a replacement. This combination
candleholder could burn either a candle or rush (plant material found in marshes)
that had been dipped in grease and clamped in the tongs. Provenance unknown.

The Buttery

This
small room adjacent to the keeping room holds many of the utensils needed
for
food preparation. One of the major household jobs was making butter and cheese.
(Samuel Hoyt's inventory lists four cows). Butter was churned from the heavy
cream which rose to the top of fresh milk after standing for some hours or
days
in shallow earthenware or tin dishes on cool pantry shelves. After skimming
it off, the cream was put in the churn, which was often made of wood as well
as stoneware. It was “churned” by moving a wooden dasher up and down—a tedious job often assigned to younger family members. The butterfat in
the cream eventually formed into clumps. It was then transferred to a bowl where
it was “worked” with a butter paddle to remove any remaining liquid
(buttermilk). This ensured that the butter would keep well and remain sweet.
It was then packed into containers—crockery or wood. It was sometimes packed
into fancy molds with carved designs to imprint the butter.

Storage shelves display. Mortars and pestles for grinding spices, herbs and grains; bowls in many sizes
and shapes including some large elongated bowls used for rising bread dough;
covered pantry boxes, often made in nested sets; wooden lemon squeezer; potato
mashers; sieves, rolling pins; stoneware and redware pottery.